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Magical, Mogul Top O’Brien’s 2020 Breeders’ Cup Brigade

Ballydoyle master Aidan O'Brien has a total of 10 horses under consideration for the trip to Keeneland to compete in the Breeders' Cup World Championships, reports the Thoroughbred Daily News.

Leading the way are his two hopefuls for the Breeders' Cup Turf, the well-traveled multiple G1 winner Magical and promising 3-year-old Mogul. Each will try to give O'Brien his sixth win in the 1 1/2-mile Turf.

Magical, the 5-year-old daughter of Galileo, has had a strong 2020 campaign. She boasts wins in the G1 Pretty Polly, G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup, and the G1 Irish Champion, the latter by three-quarters of a length over Ghaiyyath. Most recently, the mare finished third over soft ground in the G1 British Champion Stakes on Oct. 17.

In her most recent trip to the United States, Magical ran a very game second to the since-retired superstar Enable in the 2018 edition of the Breeders' Cup Turf.

“(Magical is) an unbelievable filly,” O'Brien told the TDN. “She has run at the top level from when she was a 2-year-old. She's danced every dance and traveled everywhere. She is very comfortable from a mile to a mile and a half, which is very unusual. She is very brave, stays well, and has a good mind. She is an incredible mare. She ran very well the last day in very bad ground at Ascot, which wouldn't have suited her.”

Mogul, meanwhile, won his first top-level race on Sept. 13 in the G1 Grand Prix de Paris. The 3-year-old son of Galileo had to be scratched from the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe due to the feed contamination scandal.

O'Brien's other Breeders' Cup hopefuls are as follows:

Mile: Circus Maximus, Lope Y Fernandez, Order of Australia
Filly & Mare Turf: Peaceful
Juvenile Turf: Battleground
Juvenile Fillies Turf: Mother Earth, Snowfall
Juvenile Turf Sprint: Lipizanner

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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‘A Good Problem To Have’: Attard Debating Between Two Breeders’ Cup Races For Starship Jubilee

Winner of five of her six starts in 2020, Starship Jubilee is preparing to make the trip south from her Woodbine base to Keeneland for the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The 7-year-old daughter of Indy Wind won the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile over males in her most recent start, and she won the Grade 1 E. P. Taylor Stakes over 1 1/4 miles in 2019, so there are several options for her on Nov. 7.

Her trainer, Kevin Attard, is still waiting to decide whether he'll enter Starship Jubilee in the Breeders' Cup Mile or the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, according to the Toronto Sun.

“Obviously we want to give her the best shot of performing her best and (the decision) is going to come down to trying to see who's running where,” Attard told the Sun. “We've got a decent enough idea, but when we watch the pre-entries come out it's going to be a little more clear in that sense. The good thing about my filly is, she's very versatile. She's obviously shown that she can run a mile, she's shown she can run a mile and a quarter and we're lucky enough that the Filly& Mile Turf is 1 3/16ths. And that's within her wheelhouse – a little shorter than the 1 1/4 distance, which I like. But at the same token, she ran such a big race in the Woodbine Ricoh Mile, then you have to consider running her against the boys again one more time. It's a good problem to have.”

Named the Canadian Horse of the Year in 2019, Starship Jubilee was a $16,000 claim three years ago. She has since won a dozen stakes races, including two Grade 1 races, and earned over $2 million. Her record ahead of the Breeders' Cup stands at 19-5-3 from 38 starts, and she's showing no signs of slowing down.

“You don't really expect them to be around at seven (years old),” Attard told the Sun. “It's not really the normal that we see here in racing. But the fact is, she's arguably at her best now. She enjoys what she's doing… Every time you think the chapter's done and the book might be ready to close, she's on to the next chapter. So I'm enjoying the ride and I'm going to keep going with it.”

‘Glad To Be In It’: Forster Excited For First Breeders’ Cup With Dirt Mile Hopeful Pirate’s Punch

Nestled five miles from Churchill Downs, trainer Grant Forster is eagerly preparing for the biggest race of his career at Trackside Louisville where Gulliver Racing, Craig Drager and Dan Legan's five-time winner Pirate's Punch will tackle a likely full field of competitors in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (Grade I) on Nov. 7 at Keeneland.

“Sort of like every horse trainer, I'm just holding my breath until we get there,” Forster said. “It's been a great ride so far with this horse and the (Dirt Mile) is shaping up to be a really competitive. It'll be a tough field but we're glad to be in it.”

Pirate's Punch had a unique two-race stand over the summer when Forster shipped the Shanghai Bobby gelding to Monmouth Park to compete in the $200,000 Philip Iselin Stakes (GIII) and one month later returned for the $155,000 Salvator Mile (GIII). In the Philip Iselin, the gutsy Pirate's Punch finished a half-length in front of Warrior's Charge but was subsequently disqualified and placed second following a stewards' inquiry and objection lodged by the runner-up finisher's jockey Paco Lopez.

Forster would return to Monmouth for redemption in the Salvator Mile where Pirate's Punch scored a convincing two-length score and sealed his likely starting gate position in the Dirt Mile.

In the Breeders' Cup, East Coast-based jockey Jorge Vargas Jr., who rode Pirate's Punch in each of his two starts at Monmouth, will ship to Kentucky to ride in the Breeders' Cup. The 26-year-old Vargas, whose grandfather and father both trained horses in his native Puerto Rico, is named to ride Shimmering (IRE) for trainer Graham Motion on Wednesday at Churchill Downs.

“He's rode Pirate's Punch perfectly in his last two starts, so why not continue to use him for the Breeders' Cup,” Forster said. “He's coming to Kentucky early and hopes to ride a few at Churchill before the Breeders' Cup.”

Starting on Friday, there will be a special training period from 7:30-7:45 a.m. for Breeders' Cup contenders. The special training session is scheduled to run through Wednesday, Nov. 4.

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Breeders’ Cup Commemorative Maker’s Mark Bottle Will Benefit PDJF

With the Nov. 6-7 return of the Breeders' Cup World Championships to Keeneland Race Course, a unique commemorative item available to race fans and bourbon lovers alike will also be a great way to benefit a worthy cause. Maker's Mark®, the official bourbon of the Breeders' Cup, has partnered with Keeneland for the second time in 2020 to create a uniquely designed, limited-edition bottle with proceeds supporting the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund.

This distinctive collectible is a stunning all-white Maker's Mark bottle featuring the Breeders' Cup 2020 logo, a green wax Keeneland medallion, and a green and gold Keeneland strip stamp over purple wax sealing the bottle in the bourbon's trademark style.

The bottles will go on sale in limited quantities at select local retailers around Kentucky on Friday, October 30.

“On behalf of the men and women that the PDJF serves, we are grateful for the support of Keeneland and Maker's Mark for making the PDJF the charity beneficiary of the sales of these bottles commemorating the Breeders' Cup World Championships,” said PDJF President Nancy LaSala.

“Keeneland served the very first cases of Maker's Mark ever sold,” said Rob Samuels, eighth-generation whisky maker and Managing Director of Maker's Mark, whose grandparents founded the brand. “With that in mind, we wanted to commemorate the return of the Breeders' Cup to Keeneland and felt that supporting the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund was the perfect way to celebrate our long partnership.”

Maker's Mark and Keeneland released a different commemorative bottle earlier this summer before Keeneland's Summer Meet in July, which featured the running of the Maker's Mark Mile, a Grade 1 turf race. That bottle sold out quickly with those proceeds also benefiting PDJF.

“This gorgeous Maker's Mark bottle is a wonderful way for our fans to celebrate the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland and to benefit the important work of the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund,” said Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason. “We especially thank our partner, Maker's Mark, for their decades-long support of Keeneland and Thoroughbred racing.”

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